Jerry Sadowitz is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician. Notorious for his controversial brand of pitch black comedy, Sadowitz has said that audiences going to see a comedian should suspend their beliefs. He has influenced a generation of comedians, but states that "politically incorrect comedy: it's me, and it's been ripped off by loads and loads of comics". In 2007, he was voted the 15th-greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. In the 2010 list, he was voted the 33rd-greatest stand-up comic. Sadowitz is also widely acclaimed as one of the best close-up magicians in the world and an accomplished practitioner of sleight of hand, having written several books on magic and invented several conjuring innovations.